Yes.

Yes. Bear in mind there is normally a shut off period for status match applications towards the end of the year, until early February. If you apply during this peroid, you will not be able to start the challenge until February (for me it didn't start until 9th Feb). Whilst any status miles you earn in January will count towards 1K status, they will not count as part of your challenge . Therefore you have to time your application carefully. However, if you apply now, and know you will be able to meet the 15K in 90 day challenge (UA metal only), you are granted 1P for 2011 and will still be able to achieve 1K.

I am in a bit of a "bind" here apparently... I want to status match over to UA and do the challenge... I am planning a trip to MUC during MLK weekend [Jan 13-17] and I am not planning on flying on UA until Jan 1. When do you suggest I do a status match? I want to be able to enjoy the 1P benefits during that trip as well.

I know the feeling. I only found out too late last year. I applied on Nov 4, and was told by 6th that I had to wait until Feb 2nd to apply. I had TATL's planned, one each in Dec, Jan and Feb (starting 11th) which would have been more than enough to achieve the challenge. After Feb, I didn't plan to fly TATL again until June, so would have missed out on the challenge. What I did instead was applied for status match with CO, and got Plat within 48 hours. I used my UA no. on my flights, but my CO status for priority check, boarding and *G lounge access. Unfortunately at that time, I couldn't get E+, mileage bonus, or upgrades automatically, although I did get one kind check-in agent who moved me up to E+ on SFO-LHR when I showed him my CO card. I then moved my June trip forward to early May, so that I would get 2 TATL's within the 90 days. The next nail-biting moment was the delay in getting a response from UA mileage plus after Feb 2. In the end, i got the confirmation on 9th, 2 days before my TATL flight, otherwise I would have been stuffed.
This year it is different because of the UA/CO merger. If you are able to get a CO match to Plat, you get the same benefits as UA 1P, and if you use your CO no. on you PNR, you now get E+ etc...
The CO match (if still running0 is a straight match, so you would get all the benefits through 2011.
Hope this helps

Doing two overseas trips within 90 days is not that easy.

Best chance I have would be to take the week between Xmas and New Years, when we get the week off at work and then take a vacation in January or February or early March.

But the problem with that is that the trips fall in different years and I would not be able to apply them both towards earning status.

Or is it that if I just meet the challenge within 90 days, I get status to February of next year?

Say I did the challenge and did overseas trip at the end of December and one at the end of January. Does that mean I would have the status to February of 2012 and that I wouldn't need to fly on UA any more the rest of 2011 (unless I try to get up to the next level of status)?

If you satisfy the 90-day challenge requirement of 15K BIS miles on UA before New Years, your status will expire at the end of Jan. Yes, your status will only be good for literally one month. UA has the dumbest status match rules in the industry. That is why I was hoping to do it mid-December and do 15K in Jan/Feb, so my status would be good until 2012, but unfortunately according to this post it is not not possible.

:mad:

I just got a status match from DL Plat to CO Plat, two days after I faxed the info. I just applied for the Chase CO card, but didn't get the immediate OK, so I'll have to wait and see on that.

I had done a UA status match several years ago, so I figured I should try CO before everything became one.

I went to the Aeroflot link indicated, but it didn't bring up a specific offer.

The site shows nothing but I did email Aeroflot and got this reply:

The only thing is that I could not find the "Special Form" they were referring to in the link. Emailed them to send me the form but never got a reply (this was in mid-August!!)...

I have only got this form in Russia. Hopefully you are able to figure it out.

PM me your email. I have that form in English.:p

Status match on UA
 

Use this link to match on UA

http://www.expediacorporate.com/dail...est%20form.pdf

I probably wasn't going to make 1K on UA again for next year, so I matched UA 1K to Delta Platinum Medallion, then Delta to Continental Platinum.

"Customers, who 'achieve' the challenge goal after July 1, 2010, will have their status carried over for the following year through Jan 31, 2012."

:eek: I wish I had knew this beforehand and I would have done my status match already... Guess I might be able to do a status match in mid-Dec without having to wait until Feb... If UA requires that I wait until Feb, then I will status match over to CO instead.

Cheer, I have already sent a PM to meir13 for the form in English. Can't read Russian unfortunately!

Cheers! You have a PM!